BikeJam: Three Step Program for a Safer Race

What's up people? Did you have a good weekend? Did you get all racey at Wilmington and BikeJam? Are your insides still inside and your outsides still outside? Maybe..Maybe not.

It seems like every year BikeJam comes and goes and every year people bail entirely on the race because of the past history of the race.  I mean, this race has a reputation. Of course, many people shun the risk of road rash and post up anyway.

Don't get me wrong. BikeJam is a GREAT event in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Heck, this year even seemed pivotal with the crowd attending. Town alcoholics wondering the field breaking bottles near the course were replaced by young urban twenty somethings playing organized ultimate frisbee. Yippeeee!!!

With that all being said, let's dissect why BikeJam has more than its fair share of casualties. Maybe the officials and promoters could take note.

totally stolen from Cadence and Cogs blog. Let's take down the barriers!!

1. Barriers. Lots and lots of barriers. YGD understands the need to keep people off the course. However, these steel barriers also keep riders inside the course when something 'bad' happens. As far as the eye can see there are barriers. Now..YGD is an environmentally type of guy but this might be one opportunity to use an insane amount of yellow tape and traffic cones..or maybe a human chain of friends holding hands! How many times have you heard "I got bumped into a barrier and then..."

Even Gingers weren't safe on Sunday.

2. Wheel-pit placement. Old YGD was in said BikeJam race and coming along the hill when, all the sudden, he looks up and sees a USA Cycling official entering in a crashed out rider for his free lap. Now, this SEEMS fine but you have to remember the line of sight for the rider coming into the hill is about two or three rear ends. If it wasn't for my catlike reflexes, the world would have ended. I would propose to put the wheel-pit AFTER the start/finish line in the giant empty space to the left before the chicane. Not sure if any crashes happened at that spot, but let's consider this a preventative measure for 2013.

This looks painful. Heal up, Eli. Photo from Evelyn Egizi. Evelyn, stop taking photos of broken people.

3.   Road surface. I know I know..we are LUCKY to have races at all no matter how many potholes and crevices and sand in chicanes there are. This really doesn't bother me too much. I mean, hell, people last week was the Poolesville Road Race with 1.5 miles of gravel each lap. However, considering people's ability to handle their bikes, I must voice concern.

The bumps and cracks I can take. However, I could visually see road sand/dirt in that corner. MAYBE consider putting a guy there with a broom so there aren't so many wash outs?

My last thought of the day is sketchy riders. I'll leave this one out of my official list because it's something that no promoter or official can really control. Ultimately, the safety of the race is up to the racers. Here are a few things that you can do to be considered a sketchy rider by your fellow riders.

1. Trying to pinch in to get through a spot that is not there. This is even more annoying when it's during a non-decisive time during the race. Making a move up between a rider and a barrier only separated by 8 inches is stupid. 
2. Dive-Bombing corners. I could write a whole thesis on this. The first good reason to NOT dive bomb a corner is that you are being a dick. The second reason is that you are actually loosing speed and will have to do more work long term to hold that spot. Stop it. Just keep your place and make your 'move' with your legs, not your idiot brain. 
3. Moving erratically with your bike. I don't know what this is and why people do it. An example of this is when somebody gets out of the saddle and moves their bike two or three positions to the right or left. Not needed. Another example is when a rider is 'going hard' and his bike wobbles right and left. Is he putting out SO much power that his bike can't handle it. Stop that shit. It's stupid and you look retarded. 

That's it for now. My next project will be specifically for our officials and their desire to maintain center-line enforcement no matter how sketchy and risky driving a moto on the opposite side of the road is. 

Anatomy of a Crash - NCVC/Cat 4/CX Style!!

What's upppp party people? It's flipping hump day already and ol' YGD is still shaking off the dust from Poolesville Road Race this past weekend. Luckily, all my fillings remained in tact and my bones are inside skin.  Sorry!

Mr. Guzeit from NCVC was out with a super telephoto lens taking some pictures of the pain. Dudes were breaking off the front, taking lefts when they should have been taking rights, and...crashing into grass..the BEST kind of crash.

Ahhh..yes. Luckily, Guzeit held his finger down on the trigger and captured a whole scene of NCVC Cat 4 riders overcooking a corner and working on their CX skills. Bravo to everybody involved in this. Looks like everybody is ok so here we go.

This is the best one of the bunch. The potential for a mass pile up here is huge. The NCVC rider on the bike narrowly misses the downed bike. The body position of the rider off the bike is right out of Black Swan. Since I can read minds, I know that the spectator/photographer located in this photo is thinking. 'WTF?!!'

Guzeit is now holding down his shutter button. Dreams are coming true for me.  Many people's eyes would be drawn to the riders. However, my trained YGD eyes are focused to look elsewhere. Check out photog/spectator #2 to the right. She's thinking "should i go right? should i got left? should i breakdance?" Whatever she's thinking, it's probably awesome. 

Photog #1 is now at ease of the situation and goes to help. This could have been a big mistake. Meanwhile, spectator #2 decides to bail to her right with what appears to be the dance move The Smurf. ILL! 

GW rider sees this as the perfect place to attack out of the corner for Poolesville crowd glory. I'm also tuned in to the guy in the back right corner HOLDING a camera and NOT taking photos. Come on people!! Why else bring a camera to a race other than to capture winning, droppage, or crashes?

Bike is still on the ground. Rider #2 is somewhere in the grass. Now we see a rider next to a phone poll soaking all of this in. I'm a bit jealous. 

The county should really come cut this grass. 

What is it with Cat 4s sprinting when there is a crash? GW dude is still using throwing down the watts. The reappearance of grassy NCVC rider #2. Crashed NCVC rider decides to casually pick his bike up in the road with one hand. No big deal, bro. 

ACTION SHOT!!! Now the NCVC rider #1 has properly picked up his bike..It's time to run on the road and get a sweet remount.  NCVC rider #2 (grassy mcgrasserton) is still sprinting in the grass looking to reemerge. GW rider is still out of his saddle. New riders emerge in this photo oblivious to this awesome crash.